Payment (Installment) Agreement

​The payment (or installment) agreement is another option available to the taxpayer to deal with outstanding tax liabilities. If an offer in compromise is not feasible, the payment agreement offers the taxpayer an opportunity to pay the tax liability over a period of time. Like the offer, it is based on ability to pay and is a formalized procedure that requires the submission of detailed financial information together with any documents to substantiate it. The disadvantage to this option (compared to the offer in compromise) is that the interest and penalties continue to accrue while payments are being made. In large tax liabilities, they may equal or exceed the amount being paid by the taxpayer. Congress has given a modest amount of relief to this issue in the  Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 by reducing the amount of penalties during the time that the installment agreement is in effect, but there are a number of limitations.